


So we move

by BekahRose



Category: Merlin (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, F/M, M/M, Yoga
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-02-17
Updated: 2014-02-17
Packaged: 2018-01-12 20:09:23
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,176
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1197891
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BekahRose/pseuds/BekahRose
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After losing to his sister, Arthur has to enrol and participate in a yoga class. Never one to back out - especially when betting with Morgana, Arthur enrols in a class for beginners. Once there, everything Arthur thinks he knows about yoga, is turned completely on it's head.</p>
            </blockquote>





	So we move

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Waanderlust](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Waanderlust/gifts), [sksdwrld](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sksdwrld/gifts), [kitty_fic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/kitty_fic/gifts), [agirlnamedtruth](https://archiveofourown.org/users/agirlnamedtruth/gifts), [](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts).



> Written for the [Merlin Writers](http://merlin-writers.livejournal.com/) Valentine's Weekend Chat Party event. More notes at the end.

Arthur stood at the back of the room and unrolled his mat. God, he was going to kill Morgana when he saw her next; no way had she won their last bet without cheating. He made a mental note to speak to Leon at the earliest possible opportunity. If anyone would know about Morgana doing something underhanded and sneaky to get one up on her brother, it would be said brother's best friend and said scheming witch's husband. 

Arthur looked around him, mentally calculating just how many yards of Lycra and stretch-y material there were in this one room alone and cringed as he caught sight of himself in a near-by mirror, adding his own outfit to the tally. He reached down and tried to adjust himself as discreetly as possible, pulling the clinging material away from his already muscular thighs, only to have it spring back into place. He could feel the flush heat his cheeks at the realisation he already had a small group of admirers.

Arthur glared at the small group of women and was just about to snatch his mat from the floor and leave, when the door swung open and in rushed the most ridiculous looking man he'd ever seen. The man was tall and from where Arthur stood, he looked like that Disney cartoon dog – all arms and legs – sans the green hat and waistcoat; the only saving grace was that this man's abrupt arrival drew the attention of everyone in the room. With one last look at the door, now swinging closed again with a hollow thud, Arthur turned back to face the front of the class. At least he wouldn't be the only man in here making a complete tit of himself.

"Right, sorry... Sorry." Goofy said, and Arthur could see the man's ears turn a dark shade of pink, his eyes widening as the man weaved through the crowd to stand at the front of the classroom and deftly flick out a bright blue yoga mat.

When Goofy was satisfied, he stood up straight to face the crowd and Arthur couldn’t help the tiny gasp of shock when Goofy’s bright blue gaze scanned the room and settled on him.

"Right, I see we have some new... faces," Goofy said slowly, his gaze lingering on Arthur before moving along. "Well, welcome to Yoga for Beginners. I'm your instructor, Merlin."

Arthur tugged at his t-shirt, Goofy's... _Merlin's_... gaze made him feel as though he was naked, even more so considering he was wearing spandex bicycle shorts that did little to hide his body and everything to emphasise each bump and lump. He blinked when Merlin's gaze shifted to someone else and sighed, releasing a breath he hadn't been holding. Perhaps he wouldn't be killing Morgana after all, if he got to spend the next hour watching Goofy fold himself into a pretzel.

"For our newbies," Merlin continued, slipping something from his pocket and making his way to the small stereo in the front corner of the room. "I like to start each session off with some basic stretches. Just to limber up, get your bodies prepared for some of the stretches and movements we'll be doing today. Start with basic shoulder rolls, some simple lunges..." Merlin said, still fiddling with the stereo as he talked over his shoulder. "Any combination, I just want to see you warming up those bodies."

Arthur watched as the class seemed to move as one and began performing various stretches while obviously trying to catch Goof... _Merlin's_... attention. Arthur slowly raised his right leg backward, breathing deeply as he gripped his ankle to stretch out his quadriceps. He moved quietly through a short range of stretches, making sure to focus on his breathing and what he was doing, and not the uncomfortable way his pants were currently riding up his backside. The chatter that had started up once Merlin had instructed them to stretch and prepare for their class, had dimmed somewhat as people began to focus less on gossip and more on their bodies, was somewhat soothing - though Arthur would never admit it. It had faded to a kind of white noise in the background, barely discernable over his own breathing, so it was somewhat jarring when he was snapped out of it by the screech of an electric guitar doing its best impression of a cat with its tail caught in a door.

"Sorry!" Merlin's voice rang out over the noise and he quickly fumbled with the stereo, turning it down to a more suitable volume.

Arthur grimaced and scowled, his eyes narrowing as he glared at Merlin. "I thought Morgana signed me up for yoga, not lessons on how to deafen your clients," he muttered to himself as he crossed his arms over his chest. In all seriousness, he was quite ready to walk - stalk - back to the change rooms and put his regular gym clothes back on, and go and do a proper work-out; so far, he'd done nothing... seen nothing... that he couldn't do on the edge of a football pitch, with his eyes closed and both wrists tied firmly behind his back.

Suddenly the music changed to something a little less grating, and not at all what Arthur assumed he'd be hearing inside a yoga studio.

"Okay," Merlin turned and faced the class again and gave to sharp claps to get their attention. "I want everyone in the Lotus or Butterfly position - whichever one is more comfortable for you to move into, and I'll go over the sequence we'll be performing today."

Arthur watched as everyone in the class - except him - slid to the ground and folded their legs close to their body. He looked from the women, back to the front of the studio and noticed that Merlin was watching him with one eyebrow quirked. Slowly, Arthur sank to the ground, his long legs folding in front of him to mimic what he assumed was the 'Butterfly' position of the woman next to him.

The woman gave Arthur a quick, reassuring nod before turning her attention back to Merlin who was bouncing on the balls of his feet at the front of the room.

"I'll go through the sequence twice, once rather quickly, and then a little slower." He said, looking out across the room. "While I go through the sequence, I want you all to be focusing on your breathing and if you're in Butterfly pose, pulling your heels in, towards your body, and opening up those hips. If you're in Lotus, I want you to focus on straightening and strengthening your spine. Remember, if it helps, imagine the bit of string pulling up from the top of your head."

Arthur's eyes widened and he dropped his gaze down to the space between his thighs and where his heels pressed together. "Got to be fucking kidding me," he whispered under his breath as he looked up and around, watching as the women all around him seemed to straighten and shift on the floor. Arthur shifted on his mat and grimaced at the pull to his inner-thighs and his groin, but noted that it wasn't too bad. He straightened his spine as he inhaled, and pulled his heels a little closer to his crotch, his eyes widening as the burn increased. Morgana was definitely going to pay for this, and it would involve copious amounts of pain and lycra.

"Today, we're going to start with Downward Dog, and move from there into Plank, and Upward Facing Dog, High Lunge and Warrior 2." As he spoke, Merlin moved through each of the poses with a grace that Arthur had never seen on another man before. Not even on the football field.

Merlin rolled his body from the first pose, and wasn't that just begging for Arthur's brain to form a long list of lewd and lascivious comments on just what a pose called 'Dog' was really good for, into the second, third, fourth and fifth. As he straightened from the last pose, he flashed his class a bright smile and ran his hand through his hair.

"Each of these poses is designed to work on core strength, while stretching the musculature that supports and lengthens the spine," he announced. "I promise that each of you will leave here feeling more relaxed, stronger, and maybe even a little taller, hey Ellie?" He winked at a tiny blonde at the front of the room and causing Arthur to roll his eyes.

"I'll go through these poses one last time," Merlin announced, already rolling his body so he was head down and arse-up. "And when I'm done, Gwen will be lovely enough to come and lead the class from the front while I work my way around the room and check to make sure you're not going to do yourselves an injury." He lifted his head and looked directly at Arthur, a wide grin splitting his face, causing a dimple that was in NO WAY adorable, to appear in his cheeks.

Arthur watched Merlin closely as he moved through the sequence once more, his lithe body fluid in not only the way it held the positions, but in the way he transitioned from one position to the next - a far cry from the way he'd entered the room. When Merlin was done, he straightened and stepped aside as a lovely dark haired woman slipped into his spot, she reached out and tapped a small gong, to signal... Arthur wasn't entirely sure what, but judging by the way every other person in the class moved to their feet, he thought it meant they were getting on with the actual yoga portion of the class. As he rose, the music changed and he was pleasantly surprised to hear that it was still anything but the stereotypical yoga soundtrack. Arthur shook out his legs and slowly began to mimic the people around him. He folded himself in half, bringing his knees towards his head before moving his feet towards the back of the yoga mat and lifting his hips.

“You want to breathe in as you raise your hips up in the air,” Merlin’s voice was gentle but seemed to fill the room. “Don’t worry if you don’t get the poses right, or if you wobble. Shit happens,” Merlin chuckled when several people gasped in mock outrage. “Focus on your breathing and moving with each breath.”

Arthur felt himself wobble, felt the muscles in his back, thighs and arms coil tight with tension as he tried to hold the pose. He could hear Gwen at the front of the room, counting slowly backwards from ten and he grit his teeth as he bent his knees a little before locking them in position. With his luck, if he fell on his arse, Morgana would have video footage of it up on YouTube before he'd even changed out of his ridiculous yoga outfit. He closed his eyes as he tried to focus on Merlin's instructions, and Gwen's gentle counting.

"Okay, on the next exhale, we're going to begin our first transition into Plank," Merlin said. "We'll hold it for another slow count of twenty, before transitioning to the next pose. Remember to focus on your breathing. Once you've got that down, your body should naturally move to the positions you want it to."

The sound of bare feet gently slapping against the wooden floor, along with the rustle of limbs and gentle murmurs of the other students, slowly blended together before forming a kind of white noise that Arthur was easily able to ignore as he breathed and transitioned, breathed and transitioned. When he'd made it through the first sequence, he gave himself a little mental slap on the back and readied his head for another go 'round.

Arthur took a deep, slow breath as he rolled from their starting position, and into Downward Facing Dog. His eyes were closed tightly and his jaw clenched as he focused on trying to breathe and maintain the position for Gwen's count, so it was quite a shock when he felt a large pair of hands grip his hips and jostle him into position a little. He bit back the yelp and firmed the muscles in his arms and legs to keep from toppling over, and as he looked down between his legs, he spied long, pale feet with long toes and bony ankles peeking from the bottom of loose tracksuit bottoms.

"You're still thinking about it too much," Merlin voice was soft as he tightened his grip on Arthur's hips and tugged back a little. "You need to relax; this isn't a race to the finish."

Arthur blinked rapidly as he felt himself tense up in all the wrong places. Merlin's voice washed over and around him, making it seem like they were the only two in the class, and he wondered briefly at that being the reason why there were so many women in this beginners class. The thought flittered away before it could gain too strong a foothold however, when Arthur felt long fingers dance down his spine to brush at his shoulders; his eyes widening as he realised Merlin hadn't moved from his position standing at Arthur's hips.

Warm, long fingers curled around Arthur's shoulders, jostling his arms into position. "Listen to the music..." Merlin trailed off and Arthur could hear the question in his voice.

"Arthur, Arthur Pendragon," his voice was hoarse and when he looked back down, he was mortified to feel arousal curl low in his belly at the thought of what they must look like to the other members of the class.

"Listen to the music, Arthur." Merlin said again, this time Arthur could hear a smile in his tone. "Don't think about transitioning; clear your mind of everything but breathing and the music and the next pose. Transitioning from one pose to the next should be natural. Your body," he said softly, his hands sliding back down Arthur's back towards his hips and using the slightest amount of pressure, "will automatically move the way it should as you go from pose... to pose." He nudged Arthur's back down, his hands firmly around Arthur's hips as he transitioned from Downward Dog, to Plank.

Arthur released a breath he didn't realise he'd been holding when he felt Merlin's hands slip away from his hips, and heard the gentle slap-slap of feet moving away. He tilted his head and caught Merlin's wide smile.

"See?" Merlin said, "Better already."

Arthur felt his mouth drop as Merlin winked at him before moving on to another student. He watched as Merlin guided the student from Plank to Upward Facing Dog before hurrying to transition to the next pose, already, the sound of the music Merlin had told him to listen to being drowned out by the sound of his heart pounding in his ears, it was a wonder the women around him weren't put off by the loud beating.

It wasn't much longer before the class came to an end, ending much the same way it began, with stretches and breathing that were designed to cool the muscles down gradually without sending them into shock. Arthur grabbed his towel and water bottle, scrubbing at his face before having a long drink. Outfits and questionable teaching tactics aside, it had been a rather good class. His back felt well and truly stretched, and he knew that tomorrow he'd be feeling the pleasant ache in muscles he'd never really focused on before.

He was just bending down to retrieve his yoga mat, when the sound of someone clearing their throat made him startle and stumble into standing up straight. He scowled when he saw Merlin's laughing blue eyes watching him.

"If I'd broken something, I'd have taken you for everything you've got," he snapped as he hastily rolled his mat up.

"I'd have caught you before that could happen," Merlin said, his smile softening. "I just wanted to ask if you enjoyed the class. Today was your first lesson here at Avalon Yoga?"

Arthur swallowed down whatever nasty comment he'd been about to blurt out and he looked around as the last of the women trailed out of the door. "First lesson of yoga full stop. My sister put me up to it."

Merlin nodded slowly. "Morgana's brother, right?" Merlin smiled when Arthur nodded. "She mentioned I might be seeing you. I didn't think you'd be in my class though...." He trailed off and Arthur noticed the faintest blush stealing across Merlin's cheeks. "You're quite limber already, but still quite tense. Yoga's a great way to relax, while maintaining muscle strength and flexibility."

"So I've noticed," Arthur said dryly, choosing to ignore the topic of Morgana.

"Anyway," Merlin said, chewing on his lower lip as he obviously mulled something over for the umpteenth time, if the way said lip was already red and swollen was any indication. "If you're not too busy, I can give you a few private lessons? I've got a private studio attached to my flat. No extra charge of course, if you're anything like Morgana, you'll want to beat her at her own game and she's in my advanced class which meets on Thursday nights."

Arthur's brow furrowed and he looked down as Merlin extended his hand, a slip of paper clenched tightly between his fingers. "I'm not sure..." Arthur began.

"She wanted me to make this class hell for you," Merlin said, rolling his eyes. "Don't get me wrong, she's great, but she can be a bit..."

"…Of a bitch?" Arthur supplied.

Merlin laughed and shook his head. "Focused to the point where she makes people scared. In truth, I've had some students switch from my advanced class to this one because her determination can be a bit intimidating, and that isn't what yoga... my yoga... is about."

Arthur nodded and accepted the slip of paper. "I'll think about it," he said softly tucking his mat under his arm and grasping Merlin's hand in a firm, quick shake. He turned on his heel and made his way to the door. Pushing it open, he stopped and turned back to Merlin. "Merlin," he called, interrupting the man as he went around the room, collecting forgotten water bottles and towels. "If I take you up on this offer, I won't have to wear the spandex, will I?"

Merlin's laugh was bright and filled the room. "As good as you look in the spandex," he said, letting his gaze travel up and down Arthur's body, lingering momentarily over Arthur's hips and waist before returning to meet his gaze. "You didn't have to wear it this time. Track bottoms, bare feet and a t-shirt or vest is perfectly fine."

Arthur nodded his thanks, gave Merlin a brief, but shy smile as he felt heat suffuse his cheeks and left the studio without another word.

He was definitely going to kill Morgana... but perhaps it could wait until after he'd had a few private lessons with Merlin, first.

 

**Author's Note:**

> The yoga sequence that Merlin is instructing the class is taken from [here](http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-683/Yoga-for-Beginners-Basic-Yoga-Pose-Sequence-with-Michael-Taylor-Video.html). 
> 
> The song Merlin starts playing when the class starts, is ['Out of This World' by Bush](http://youtu.be/QDwTOZjT3Rc). The title is also taken from the same song.


End file.
